Yellow
by JenKristo
Summary: A shadow from Bumblebee's past shows up in town, trying to change what drove them apart. Prime-Movie crossover. Prime!Bumblebee/Sam.


I've been itching to write this for a while. Just imagine that the first two Bay movies occurred and then the Autobots relocated to the desert and Prime-verse began.

1

It was 5:30 on a Sunday night, and Jack's shift was finally over. He pulled off the hat and apron, eager to get out into the real world again. He went outside and climbed onto Arcee.

"Thank God we're getting out of here," Jack said.

"I thought you liked having spare cash to spend."

"Well yeah, but it doesn't mean I can't hate the earning part."

"No kidding. At least you have something to do in there. I just sit out here baking."

Arcee pulled out and they headed through town. It was pretty empty at this hour, most people inside having dinner. But a pedestrian or two still wasn't unusual, and Jack didn't pay any mind to the man walking down the street on the opposite side.

"Wha.." Arcee started, her front wheel shuddering as she slid to an abrupt stop.

"What is it? What happened?" Jack asked. Arcee didn't move, and the man who they had passed continued on his way, his back facing them now. Jack looked back at the man and the large duffel bag he had slung over his shoulder. "Do you know that guy?"

"I uh, no. He looked familiar, but it couldn't be him." Arcee took off again.

"Are you sure?" Jack pressed curiously.

"Yes." She responded in a tone saying that the conversation was over.

Back at base, Ratchet and Optimus were looking over some new coordinates on the main screen. Arcee transformed and came over to them.

"Optimus, I need to talk to you about something," she said. Jack listened with interest.

Just then, Bumblebee drove in with Bulkhead on his tail. Raf and Miko stepped out and the bots transformed.

Optimus finally broke his gaze away from the screen to look at the little femme. "What is it, Arcee?"

Arcee seemed unsure of herself now, glancing over at Bee as he headed past them. "Uh, it's nothing. Never mind."

xxxx

The next day when the bell rang for dismissal, Jack went to the window to see if Arcee had arrived yet. And there she was, parked out front of the school, with the same man from last night. He was standing there looking down at her. But with his back to the building, he couldn't see why.

He hurried to pack up his bag and head out. Impatiently he pushed through the other students toward the parking lot. He saw them, and just for a split second he thought he saw the man talking to her. He looked up at Jack. He was a scruffy guy, probably in his mid-twenties, with stubble on his face and desert dust on the legs of his jeans. A wisp of smoke trailed up from the cigarette between his fingers.

"Nice ride you have," he said to Jack.

"Thanks," Jack replied, unsure of what to make of the stranger.

"Listen, I've got to see the Big Guy, so I'm just gonna..." he glanced around at the crowd of students passing by. "I'm just gonna borrow your ride."

Well that answered one question, and brought about a million more. This man knew the Autobots? He wished they were alone, so Arcee could explain what was going on. Jack narrowed his eyes, especially put off with the idea of being left at the school while this stranger drove off with Arcee.

Jack decided to play it cool. "Are you sure you don't want to wait? Bulkhead will be here soon and he's air conditioned." He internally winced. Air conditioned? How lame was he again?

"Or Bumblebee if you want to wait a little longer. Do you know him?"

The man's eyes seemed to flicker. His brow furrowed and he took a puff of his cigarette, his posture tense. He dropped the cigarette and ground it out beneath his boot. "I know him. I'll be fine, thanks. I gotta go back to the motel to grab my bag and I'm kind of in a rush." Without another word he swung his leg over Arcee and tossed the helmet to Jack, with no interest in wearing it.

Arcee's engine started without help, and she drove off with the stranger.

"Who was that?" Miko said as she walked up behind him. "What's he doing with Arcee?"

"I have no idea. Apparently he knows the Autobots. He called Prime 'the Big Guy'."

"Whoa," Miko said. "I guess he knows him well. Maybe he's an old friend." She looked up at him. "You look a little jealous."

"I am _not _jealous," Jack said, sounding very jealous.

"What's Jack jealous of?" Raf asked as he joined them.

"Nothing," Jack said.

Bulkhead pulled up a few moments later. By then the other students had walked out of earshot, and he spoke up. "Hey Raf, Bumblebee is running a couple minutes late. Do you want to wait or jump in?"

"I'll wait," Raf said loyally.

Jack and Miko climbed in and he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Bulkhead, could you drive a little faster today? I want to get to the base before that guy does."

"What guy?"

"The one who drove off on Arcee," Miko said in a slightly teasing voice. Jack pouted.

"What?" Bulkhead asked with surprise. "Who was he? What was his name?"

"No idea, he didn't bother to introduce himself. Arcee seemed willing enough to go with him."

"Huh," Bulkhead said. He didn't sound concerned, but accelerated anyway.

On the long stretch of desert highway, Jack's thoughts were interrupted when Bulkhead started to slow down. "Well here they come," he said. Jack and Miko looked behind them, and saw the blue motorcycle in the distance. It reached them pretty quickly and slowed to match their pace. Arcee pulled into the empty oncoming lane beside Bulkhead. The man had a pair of aviators on now, his duffel bag thrown across his shoulder.

"Oh slag," Bulkhead murmured. He honked at them in greeting despite the dread in his tone.

"You know him?" Jack asked, a spark of interest at the dread in Bulkhead's reaction.

"I know enough. He left around the same time I joined up again with the Autobots on Earth."

"Well, who is he?"

Bulkhead seemed to hesitate. "He was... like you guys, friends with the Autobots. The first human they met when they arrived. They went through the pits with him before I even came. He helped the Bots fight the Fallen, even helped bring Optimus back after he'd been killed."

"So what's the issue?" Jack asked.

"The issue is that it didn't end on good terms… at least for one of us."

Miko sighed, refusing to be put down by it all. "Well Jack might be jealous, but I'm not. It'll be fun having somebody new on the inside, especially an adult who isn't Fowler or Jack's mom."

"He's not an adult," Jack said. "He's only, what? Twenty something?"

Miko rolled her eyes. She opened the window, wind blowing around them as it filled the car. "Hey!" she called out. He didn't notice her until she waved. He waved back. "What's your name?" she called.

"What?" he shouted.

"Your name!"

"What? I can't hear you!"

She laughed and shook her head, closing the window.

xxxx

They arrived at base and the humans dismounted.

"Look what I found," Arcee said once she'd transformed. Optimus and Ratchet turned, optics wide at the sight of the newcomer.

"Sam," Optimus said with a gentle smile. "What a surprise, to see you after so long."

_So he has a name_, Jack thought.

Optimus came forward and lowered his servo for the man to step up. Sam stood on his palm, an arm around his thumb as he was lifted. So they were on carrying terms?

"Sorry I haven't been around before. Things have been… you know. They've been. So, look at you guys!" he said, trying to clear the moodiness. He sat on Optimus' palm. "Ratchet, I'm liking the makeover. You look better in orange than green."

Ratchet shook his helm as he smiled. "You look older but you haven't changed a bit."

Sam laughed and looked down at Jack and Miko. "You see how he is? It's been three years and the first words out of his mouth are that I'm old. Typical Ratchet."

Miko and Jack had climbed the ladder to the upper level, and Optimus dropped Sam off at the edge. "The first time I met Ratchet I was with this girl I liked, and right away he scans me and lets her know I want to mate with her."

Miko laughed, and Jack had to smile a little. The guy had been so moody looking out front of the school, but Sam had a down-to-earth face now that he was relaxed.

"Can you believe that?" he continued.

"No," Miko said, "Ratchet is such a prude with us. He won't even tell us where baby transformers come from."

Sam laughed and Ratchet sputtered as he tried to explain himself to the newcomer. "W-well they're just children."

"I was pretty young too," Sam said. He looked at Jack, sizing him up. "How old are you, uh…?"

"Jack."

Sam gave him a look. "You're right, I should have introduced myself. "I'm Sam, nice to meet you, Jack. And you're?"

"Miko."

"Miko! It's great to meet you guys. So Jack, how old are you?"

"I'm sixteen."

"Yeah, there you go," he said to Ratchet. "I wasn't that much older and you sure gave me hell."

Ratchet put his servos up in surrender.

"So tell us Sam," Optimus said, "What brings you back to the Autobots after so long?"

Sam looked a little uncomfortable.

"Not that you aren't always welcome," Optimus added.

There was a long silence before Bulkhead finally spoke up. He'd been leaning against a wall nearby. "Does Bumblebee know that you're here?"

Sam's face fell. He shook his head. "No. I just wanted to say hi before I saw him. In case… in case I had to leave early."

Jack and Miko looked at each other.

"Well…" Miko said, finally breaking the silence. "Are you staying at the base? There are some pint size rooms down the hall for humans. You could stay in one of those."

Sam looked thankful for the change of topic. "Yeah, that'd be great."

They went back down the ladder and started across the room toward the East hall. Just as they did, Bumblebee drove in through the tunnel. Jack noticed Ratchet turn to Optimus with concern. The Prime straightened. Rather quickly, Arcee and Bulkhead left the room.

Raf jumped out and Bumblebee transformed, still not having noticed the newcomer. He beeped excitedly, but paused when he saw Bulkhead and Arcee leaving. He turned to Optimus, his whirs and beeps rising at the end in a question. Optimus looked down at Sam, and Bumblebee followed his gaze. The bot froze, blue optics growing larger. Optimus and Ratchet followed after the others.

"Who are you?" Raf asked, but Miko grabbed his hand and shushed him. She looked back at Jack, beckoning him to follow.

He did, but he couldn't help peeking back around the corner into the main room.

"Come on, Jack," Miko whispered, but Jack nudged her off. He watched, too curious to leave.

Sam and Bumblebee stood watching each other, unmoving. And then without warning, the room exploded with noise. The voice was blaringly loud and angry.

"I want you to know it's a little fucked up, that I'm stuck here waiting!" Bumblebee shouted.

Jack's eyes widened, his mouth hanging open. Was Bumblebee speaking? Loud and clear? No, it was a recording. It was music.

Bee paced around the man lividly. "Shit, I find myself just filling my time with anything to keep the thought of you from my mind. I'm doing fine and I'm planning to keep it that way."

Sam walked toward him, hands opened, pleading. Bumblebee jerked away, transforming back into a Camaro. It surged toward Sam, stopping inches away from him. Sam's knees bent, but he didn't fall. His hands splayed out on the car's hood.

"Where'd you go?" Bumblebee sang sadly, "I miss you so, seems like it's been forever that you've been gone."

Sam finally fell to his knees, forehead pressed against the end of the car. "I'm sorry Bee," he cried over the music.

"Where'd you go? I miss you so, seems like it's been forever that you've been gone."

"I'm sorry."


End file.
